The Omnivore's Dilemma

A Natural History of Four Meals

By: Michael Pollan

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 15 hrs and 53 mins

Publisher's summary

The best-selling author of The Botany of Desire explores the ecology of eating to unveil why we consume what we consume in the 21st century.

"What should we have for dinner?" To one degree or another, this simple question assails any creature faced with a wide choice of things to eat. Anthropologists call it the omnivore's dilemma. Choosing from among the countless potential foods nature offers, humans have had to learn what is safe, and what isn't, which mushrooms should be avoided, for example, and which berries we can enjoy. Today, as America confronts what can only be described as a national eating disorder, the omnivore's dilemma has returned with an atavistic vengeance.

The cornucopia of the modern American supermarket and fast-food outlet has thrown us back on a bewildering landscape where we once again have to worry about which of those tasty-looking morsels might kill us. At the same time we're realizing that our food choices also have profound implications for the health of our environment. The Omnivore's Dilemma is best-selling author Michael Pollan's brilliant and eye-opening exploration of these little-known but vitally important dimensions of eating in America.

We are indeed what we eat, and what we eat remakes the world. A society of voracious and increasingly confused omnivores, we are just beginning to recognize the profound consequences of the simplest everyday food choices, both for ourselves and for the natural world. The Omnivore's Dilemma is a long-overdue book and one that will become known for bringing a completely fresh perspective to a question as ordinary and yet momentous as "What shall we have for dinner?"

©2006 Michael Pollan (P)2006 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

Gold Medal in Nonfiction for the California Book Award • Winner of the 2007 Bay Area Book Award for Nonfiction • Winner of the 2007 James Beard Book Award/Writing on Food Category • Finalist for the 2007 Orion Book Award • Finalist for the 2007 NBCC Award

"Thoughtful, engrossing . . . You're not likely to get a better explanation of exactly where your food comes from."—The New York Times Book Review

"An eater's manifesto . . . [Pollan's] cause is just, his thinking is clear, and his writing is compelling. Be careful of your dinner!"—The Washington Post

"Outstanding . . . a wide-ranging invitation to think through the moral ramifications of our eating habits."—The New Yorker

Great book; didn't love the reading

While raving to a friend about Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle", she recommended this book, so it was my next purchase. Early on I began to wonder if ANYTHING was really healthy and ethical to eat, unless you can produce all your own food! But it turned out to have some fascinating and valuable information about the way our food is grown, processed and transported, so it was well worth reading.

As for the narration... I've listened to several other books narrated by Scott Brick, and he's never been a favorite, but this was just baaaaddd. This book did NOT require a dramatic reading, but that's what it got! And I wish someone would give narrators a list of uncommon words in advance so he or she can be prepared! Mr. Brick really butchered a few words, and based on sentence context, I think he may have mis-read a few words altogether! I kept telling myself it's not a big deal - I got the point - but it's just so distracting!

Loved it!

Quality from the research to the narration. Pollan deserves a medal for the work he's done. This is a dense book, and is particularly well-suited to audio. (Quite frankly, I'm not sure I would have gotten through the print version, and that would have been a shame.) One of the most influential books I've "read" in years.

Thoughtful Exploration of Sourcing Food

Although some facts presented are outdated, the spirit remains true. It explores a wide range of solutions without providing The Answer. This is an excellent place to start when solving one's own Omnivore's Dilemma.

Thoroughly enjoyable

Mr. Pollan seems to have done his homework, and does a great job of weaving his findings into a thoroughly enjoyable (and for the most part, mouth-watering) account of four meals.

Dry listen - but interesting

I found the information to be very interesting and the book was an easy one to get through. It seemed a little dry, but it really made me think and changed a lot of my perspective involving food.

Remain an Omnivore

A thoroughly enjoyable listen!

The book is not gross or aimed at converting you to any mode of eating. Rather it is informative and empowers you to make better choices, if you like. You will not be "SCARED STARVED."

We Americans should become more aware of our food sources. I shared many points I learned in this book with my friends and found them hopelessly unaware of their food. I felt proud to enlighten them, however slightly, as Michael Pollan has me in a very large way.

Michael lays out the story of food and its source with an entertaining style delivering a lot of digestible information along the way; truly informative and educational.

Scott Brick is the perfect reader for this book. His delivery is clear and provides emphasis as if he were the source of the story. The humor within is delivered nicely.

I remain an omnivore!

An amazing food journey!

I loved this, start to finish! I didn't quite get why I was being buried in corn at the beginning, but the weight of it was removed at the end. Michael Pollan is a compelling storyteller who leaves you to find the moral. I thank him for the journey, and the thought-provoking oberservations. Digging into Second Nature now, and delighted that he narrates it himself.

Eye opening

This is a detailed, informative and very disturbing look at the industrial food system we live within. It makes me want to run away from anything with corn in it.

So much to think about

Michael Pollan writes a very well researched book on how our choices when eating impact our local and global world. I think I will ask of myself much more because I have read this book. Worthwhile.

My complaints about this book are editing and narrator. While I think this book is good I think it could have been more heavily edited. Maybe as much as a third could have been left on the cutting room floor.

Narration requires an understanding of the topic AND the willingness to research correct pronunciation. The correct plural of beef is beef. The correct pronunciation of carrageenan is ghee or gi (martial arts uniform, not G as in Leave it to Beaver 'Ah, gee, Wally.'

Not sure I will listen again but if I do I will consider 1.25 or 1.5 speed.

Not what I feared

What did you love best about The Omnivore's Dilemma?

I have hesitated listening to the Omnivore's Dilemma out of fear that it would turn me off to many of the foods I rely on. Instead it was a clearly written entertaining story of the "behind the scenes" food production in modern society.